You have several students collaborating on wikis for a science class. Students are divided into groups and are collecting information on each of the kingdoms of living organisms. The wikis are used to present the information, including some slide presentations and graphics your students have created. Your Monera kingdom group has been doing extremely creative work and has created an impressive presentation on bacteria. The group has received a request by a teacher to use some of their graphics on bacteria cell structure for a project at a school in a nearby state. The students who created the work would get credit for their contribution, and the request is for two graphics out of over a dozen in the presentation. How do you advise your students?
___
The issue of safety
Regarding safety, because these students are adults, they should be comfortable with the idea of sharing information in this way, and possibly allowing the teacher in question to credit them by first initial and last name, or perhaps by a "group name" they choose to protect their anonymity. (WAR) However, while college students may have learned the basics of internet security at younger ages, there is a whole new set of concerns to consider when we have older students publishing content on the Web. One of the primary concerns is the possibility of hackers stealing students' identities and accessing their data if students use their full names. In this particular case, they are using a wiki that must be open to the public for people elsewhere to have viewed it and requested permission to use their graphics. Using only parts of their names, or adopting a group name, will help to protect their identities. The National Cybersecurity Alliance, in their online publication, Basic Cybersecurity and Online Safety, recommend that college students ask themselves the three W's before sharing personal information online:
Who’s going to see it?
What’s the value of it?
Why do they need to see it? (JTW)
Plagiarism: What is it and how to avoid it
In order for students to conduct research with academic integrity, it is crucial for them to understand the definition of plagiarism and the ways by which they can avoid even accidentally committing acts of plagiarism. This is particularly important when and if their work will be shared with others for educational intent. (SB)
Fair Use, and citing work – a teachable moment
It seems that this is a teachable moment for students to understand not only the fair use of their original content by others, but also understanding the laws that apply to them when they use others' content. There is an excellent post titled, "The Educators Guide to Copyright, Fair Use, and Creative Commons," by Ronnie Burt on Edublogs. In it he explains what constitutes fair use of copyrighted material, explains Creative Commons, and lists other resources for content that are available for public use. Students need to develop an understanding of what they can use in their own projects and presentations in their classes; this is a helpful resource for that learning process. The University of Texas Libraries provides a more detailed explanation of fair use of copyrighted material. Creating an assignment requiring students to understand the basics of fair use and how to cite content that is available for use is a good way to expand the discussion beyond their own decisions about the use of the graphics they created for their project. (JTW)
As we are all aware, citing someone else's work is one of the most challenging aspects of creating a scholarly document. To protect their work, ensure that their work would be cited correctly elsewhere, and ultimately ensure that they would receive credit for it going forward, I would have these students review the American Psychological Association's The basics of APA style. Then, using the APA style format, I would have the student write their own cites for their documents. By doing this, others could simply cut and paste these correctly formatted cites into their own work. This would not only teach/reinforce the cite process, it would also add another layer of protection to their project and its components.(WAR)
Creative Commons
Ultimately, to protect their work, I would encourage them to publish the entire presentation through Creative Commons first. A non-commercial license through Creative Commons would allow teachers, students, and other individuals to use any or all of the presentation – but would prevent these individuals or companies from selling it for a profit. It also would protect the people who use the work from worrying about copyright infringement, as long as they abide by the conditions the creators impose on the license. (WAR) The Creative Commons website provides a search page for users to look for content that bears the CC license. (JTW)
The advice, step by step
First, I would ask the students to discuss whether they want to share their graphics or not. What would be the pros and cons of sharing their images? How does the person making the request want to use the graphics? For what type of project? What if they can't come to consensus as a group? (JTW)
Next, I would want to explain to the students the difference between publishing something in the public domain.and publishing something with a Creative Commons license. It would be a good exercise to have them discuss the pros and cons of each of those possibilities as well. (JTW)
Third, I would facilitate their understanding of the types of licenses available through Creative Commons. There is an interactive tool on the Creative Commons website that helps a user explore the types of licenses available and can take a user through the steps of choosing a license. (JTW)
Finally, I would assist them in the process of marking their work with the license they have chosen so that it can be found by users interested in the kind of content they have created. (JTW)
Conclusion
Guiding our students into the realm of the Read/Write Web requires us, as educators, to consider the expansive benefits and potential pitfalls that 21st century learners may encounter. No doubt, students using Wikis to create, analyze, and share their research results with a wider audience reinforces the key point that what they are doing is not confined to a vacuum. Rather, it is a "knowledge pool" that can be used by other learners and even other educators. This can and should be an empowering learning experience that students can take with them into their professional lives. However, they also need to be aware that along with this new information literacy comes rights of protection. They need to understand the implications of using borrowed information and sharing their research results with others. They need to know how to protect their ideas, their identities, and their academic integrity throughout this process. By following the aforementioned advice, learners will be better equipped to engage in a more meaningful dialogue with others regarding the information they have gathered and created (SB).
Home > Group B Workspace > Learning Activity 7-C-2: Sandra, Jan, Wendy
Scenario C: Science Wikis
You have several students collaborating on wikis for a science class. Students are divided into groups and are collecting information on each of the kingdoms of living organisms. The wikis are used to present the information, including some slide presentations and graphics your students have created.Your Monera kingdom group has been doing extremely creative work and has created an impressive presentation on bacteria. The group has received a request by a teacher to use some of their graphics on bacteria cell structure for a project at a school in a nearby state. The students who created the work would get credit for their contribution, and the request is for two graphics out of over a dozen in the presentation.
How do you advise your students?
___
The issue of safety
Regarding safety, because these students are adults, they should be comfortable with the idea of sharing information in this way, and possibly allowing the teacher in question to credit them by first initial and last name, or perhaps by a "group name" they choose to protect their anonymity. (WAR) However, while college students may have learned the basics of internet security at younger ages, there is a whole new set of concerns to consider when we have older students publishing content on the Web. One of the primary concerns is the possibility of hackers stealing students' identities and accessing their data if students use their full names. In this particular case, they are using a wiki that must be open to the public for people elsewhere to have viewed it and requested permission to use their graphics. Using only parts of their names, or adopting a group name, will help to protect their identities. The National Cybersecurity Alliance, in their online publication, Basic Cybersecurity and Online Safety, recommend that college students ask themselves the three W's before sharing personal information online:
Plagiarism: What is it and how to avoid it
In order for students to conduct research with academic integrity, it is crucial for them to understand the definition of plagiarism and the ways by which they can avoid even accidentally committing acts of plagiarism. This is particularly important when and if their work will be shared with others for educational intent. (SB)
Fair Use, and citing work – a teachable moment
It seems that this is a teachable moment for students to understand not only the fair use of their original content by others, but also understanding the laws that apply to them when they use others' content. There is an excellent post titled, "The Educators Guide to Copyright, Fair Use, and Creative Commons," by Ronnie Burt on Edublogs. In it he explains what constitutes fair use of copyrighted material, explains Creative Commons, and lists other resources for content that are available for public use. Students need to develop an understanding of what they can use in their own projects and presentations in their classes; this is a helpful resource for that learning process. The University of Texas Libraries provides a more detailed explanation of fair use of copyrighted material. Creating an assignment requiring students to understand the basics of fair use and how to cite content that is available for use is a good way to expand the discussion beyond their own decisions about the use of the graphics they created for their project. (JTW)
As we are all aware, citing someone else's work is one of the most challenging aspects of creating a scholarly document. To protect their work, ensure that their work would be cited correctly elsewhere, and ultimately ensure that they would receive credit for it going forward, I would have these students review the American Psychological Association's The basics of APA style. Then, using the APA style format, I would have the student write their own cites for their documents. By doing this, others could simply cut and paste these correctly formatted cites into their own work. This would not only teach/reinforce the cite process, it would also add another layer of protection to their project and its components.(WAR)
Creative Commons
Ultimately, to protect their work, I would encourage them to publish the entire presentation through Creative Commons first. A non-commercial license through Creative Commons would allow teachers, students, and other individuals to use any or all of the presentation – but would prevent these individuals or companies from selling it for a profit. It also would protect the people who use the work from worrying about copyright infringement, as long as they abide by the conditions the creators impose on the license. (WAR) The Creative Commons website provides a search page for users to look for content that bears the CC license. (JTW)
The advice, step by step
First, I would ask the students to discuss whether they want to share their graphics or not. What would be the pros and cons of sharing their images? How does the person making the request want to use the graphics? For what type of project? What if they can't come to consensus as a group? (JTW)
Next, I would want to explain to the students the difference between publishing something in the public domain.and publishing something with a Creative Commons license. It would be a good exercise to have them discuss the pros and cons of each of those possibilities as well. (JTW)
Third, I would facilitate their understanding of the types of licenses available through Creative Commons. There is an interactive tool on the Creative Commons website that helps a user explore the types of licenses available and can take a user through the steps of choosing a license. (JTW)
Finally, I would assist them in the process of marking their work with the license they have chosen so that it can be found by users interested in the kind of content they have created. (JTW)
Conclusion
Guiding our students into the realm of the Read/Write Web requires us, as educators, to consider the expansive benefits and potential pitfalls that 21st century learners may encounter. No doubt, students using Wikis to create, analyze, and share their research results with a wider audience reinforces the key point that what they are doing is not confined to a vacuum. Rather, it is a "knowledge pool" that can be used by other learners and even other educators. This can and should be an empowering learning experience that students can take with them into their professional lives. However, they also need to be aware that along with this new information literacy comes rights of protection. They need to understand the implications of using borrowed information and sharing their research results with others. They need to know how to protect their ideas, their identities, and their academic integrity throughout this process. By following the aforementioned advice, learners will be better equipped to engage in a more meaningful dialogue with others regarding the information they have gathered and created (SB).
RESOURCES:
American Psychological Association. (2013). The basics of apa style. Retrieved from:
http://www.apastyle.org/index.aspx
APA Style. Retrieved from:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/2/10/
Burt, Ronnie. (2012, February 9). The educators guide to copyright, fair use, and creative commons.
[Weblog comment]. Retrieved from:
http://theedublogger.com/2012/02/09/the-educators-guide-to-copyright-fair-use-and-creative-commons/
Creative Commons website. Retrieved on July 31, 2013 from
http://creativecommons.org (WAR)
Harper, G.K. (2012). Building on others' creative expression: Fair use of copyrighted material. Retrieved from:
http://copyright.lib.utexas.edu/copypol2.html
"How to Avoid Plagiarism 2012/2013." (2010, September 6). MMUDegree Skills. Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeRfu4ohE9A
National Cybersecurity Alliance. Basic cybersecurity and online safety. Retrieved from:
http://www.sgc.edu/president/departments/IIT/pdfs/College_Students.pdf